


Beastial

by NaturalDisaster_Goddess



Series: Corruption [2]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom
Genre: Angst, But you already knew that, F/M, I think I accidentally made Shadow Beasts a lot like werewolves, I'll probably put more later, Linked Universe, LinkedUniverse, Shadow Beast - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-12-26 22:30:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 9,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18291521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaturalDisaster_Goddess/pseuds/NaturalDisaster_Goddess
Summary: I guess transforming without her has consequences.





	1. Dreams Only Last For A Night

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the prologue to the next part of "Corruption" have fun watchin ya bois suffer. I also have a ton of art that I want to do for this so go ahead and check out my Tumblr if you want to see it.

The first time he transformed it had been painful. His bones cracked and shifted, his skull stretched, his jaw dislocated, and his organs were shifting to fit his new body, and he felt every moment of it.

He woke up in a cell. His...paw?...chained to the floor. He panicked; pulled desperately at the chain stumbling over his limbs, and howling up a storm; wishing, _pleading_ for someone to hear him.

Then _she_ was there. Taunting, sarcastic, and a bit rude, but she got him out of the chains. Then she was dropping onto his back like a common horse and leading him into a life changing adventure.

* * *

 

They were in Arbiter’s Ground. She was there in front of him no longer an imp, but a tall, beautiful, dignified princess. Then she opened her mouth with a sarcastic comment flowing from her lips, and she was just Midna, his best friend, again.

A lonely tear fell from her eyes

_Why?_

and she wiped it into the mirror. Glass splintered and fractured.

“Link,” she said, “I…”

_What? “I” what?_

“See you later.”

Then she was gone; disappearing into the mirror.

He ran forward; glass shards flying around his face, but when he reached the mirror all that was left was an empty frame.

His throat tightened, and he felt tears pooling in his own eyes.

_See you later._

 


	2. Magic Is Fickle

His eyes were heavy and wet when he was shaken awake to the bright starry sky. He groaned and pushed himself into a sitting position; a still yet unfulfilled promise echoing in his ears.

Sky was crouched above him; waiting patiently for him to get his bearings.

“My turn?” he whispered.

Sky nodded and stepped quietly to his own bedroll on the raised rock they’d situated themselves on, and was completely unconscious in seconds.

Twilight stood, stretched, and carefully observed the surrounding area. When he was satisfied that no one else was awake he shifted into his wolf form.

He tilted his head skyward and took a deep searching breath; metal and smoke-Four, slightly damp air and bird feathers-Sky, that stupid cologne that always made him choke-Warriors, saltwater and sand-Wind, grass and farm animals-Time, dirt, grass and a tinge of magic-Hyrule, wood, metal and an inexplicable hint of rabbit-Legend, forests, rivers, and fire-Wild, all of them were there and all seemed to be fine. There was a slight scent of monsters on the breeze, but not close enough to be of any concern.

And to the North; stone, glass, and tears-Arbiter’s Ground.

He shook himself roughly out of his thoughts; the desert was starting to affect him. He paced quietly around the rock; eyes vigilant as he looked over his companions. For once Wild didn’t appear to be plagued by nightmares.

_ That makes one out of the two of us, _ Twilight thought,  _ small mercies I guess. _

He did hear sounds of distress over the course of his search, and immediately his head rose and his ears perked searching for the origin of the sound.

Saltwater and sand; it was Wind. Twilight stepped closer to the youngest of the group; Wind’s face was scrunched up, tiny beads of sweat decorating his forehead, and every few seconds a whimper would escape his mouth.

Twilight gently nosed his snout into Wind’s cheek, and when that didn’t appear to help, he swallowed his pride and gently licked Wind’s face. The sweat had been wiped from his face and his hair was sticking up in wild cowlicks after a couple minutes, but he was breathing easier and no longer whimpering.

Satisfied, Twilight made his way to the edge of the rock and turned his gaze, and his nose, outward.

* * *

 

Nothing really interesting had happened by the time he had to wake Time for his watch shift.

Twilight turned away from the edge of the rock, closed his eyes, and focused on his human form. He felt the magic flow through his body, stronger and stronger, faster and faster, the energy of Twili magic sparking through his veins like exploding stars.

Then it was gone.

Twilight opened his eyes, but when he looked at his hands they were still paws.

_ What? _

He closed his eyes and summoned the magic again. Supernovas flowed with his blood setting his skin tingling.

 

Nothing.

 

Again bright fire sparked through his body, and this time it  _ burned _ .

 

Still nothing.

 

Again. 

 

Twilight muffled his whine as angry flames seared his body, but when the burning receded and he look at his hands, they were hands again.

_ What the hell was that? _

 


	3. Dying Color

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To clarify; this story is set about three months after Malicious(totally didn't just decide that 20 minutes ago) and the others do know about Twilight's wolf form but they don't know that it's "dark/shadow magic"

The smell of Wild making breakfast woke him up.

_Morning already._

Twilight slowly dragged his eyes open as he worked to identify the smells.

_Fruit. Potatoes. Liquor? Some kind of meat. Rabbit? Where the hell did he get a rabbit?_

Eventually Twilight pulled himself into a sitting position with a yawn; then stretched and was off to see what his protege was doing. The others were all going about their own routines as he walked past; Sky was still sleeping and it seemed Wind had been the poor Link saddled with waking him up, Time was packing away whatever he could for now, Four was going about his self-imposed task of figuring out how to improve Wild’s weapons, Warriors was sitting on the ground with a small brush in hand staring intently into a mirror, and Legend had dragged Hyrule into studying maps of the area with him.

Twilight sat beside Wild and leaned in to get a closer look. Three pans were half buried in the coals of the fire, and a pot was propped above a small, but fully roaring flame. The skinned and gutted remains of a jack rabbit had been thrown to another side of the rock, and the viable meat was cut into strips cooking slowly in one of the pans. The other pan held some shredded potatoes, and the last one was toasting several pieces of bread. The pot, he soon found, was the source of the liquor smell, and inside the boiling liquid were several chunks of something he couldn’t make out.

“Where’d you get the rabbit?” he asked.

“I think it has a den under this rock, noticed it coming back early this morning.” Wild responded.

The others gathered around as Wild was finishing. Wind had finally succeeded at waking Sky and the older was rubbing his eyes and yawning.

Someone chuckled.

 

The chuckling got louder as Wind sat down.

 

“Wind,” Legend asked with a smirk, “what happened to your hair?”

The expression that crossed Wind’s face made Twilight huff as he tried to cover a laugh.

Wind’s hair was still stuck up in wild cowlicks from where Twilight had licked it while calming him the previous night, and it seemed Wind had managed to make it worse. His hair was sticking all over the place making the entire left side of his head look like a blonde pine tree.

“What? What’s wrong with it?” Wind asked reaching up to feel his hair. His searching hand eventually found the spikes. His eyes grew wide and he began desperately running his fingers through his hair in an effort to flatten it.

“Ow!” he cried as his finger caught in a tangle. Time was had a hand over his mouth, and his shoulders were shaking. Wild was biting his lip, and the others weren’t even _trying_ to smother their laughter at Wind’s struggle.

The moment was made even better when Legend noticed the expression on Warriors’ face.

Legend looked across the fire at Warriors, and he was immediately collapsed on his side, one arm wrapped around his stomach and the other pointing at Warriors’ face. The other Links followed his pointing finger and the laughter nearly doubled in sound. Wild had stopped biting his lip, his face now almost buried in his knees as he wrapped his arms around his stomach nearly hitting Twilight in the head with the cooking ladle in his hand. Time was doing his best to smother his laughter and his face was beginning to turn red from the effort.

_Warriors’ face though!_

He was staring at Wind attempting to brush out his hair with his fingers in horror, and from the look on his face you’d think it was causing him actual, physical pain to watch.

And apparently it was, because not even a second later Warriors was rubbing at his forehead as though to ward off a headache, “Oh Hylia, I can’t watch this anymore.”

He reached out and grabbed Wind’s sleeve, pulling the younger towards him, “Come here, and sit down. Don’t move.”

The soldier got up to grab something from his bag, and returned holding an actual hairbrush and a jar of...something.

He opened the jar and swiped his fingers through the surface coming away with a clump of white paste. Warriors rubbed the paste between his fingers until it melted; then rubbed his them across the spikes in Wind’s hair twisting the strands between his fingertips.

“Hey! What are you putting in my hair?” Wind exclaimed.

“Relax, it’s just coconut oil. Now hold still.” Warriors replied off handedly, grabbing the brush and starting to gently tug it through the tangles at the tips of Wind’s hair.

Breakfast was already done, but Warriors refused to move until he’d fixed the absolute atrocity that was Wind’s hair.

‘Seriously have you even _heard_ the word ‘conditioner’?’ he kept muttering and then had a minor crisis when Wind replied that, ‘No. No he hadn’t.’.

Eventually though, he was satisfied and they were all settling down for a breakfast of a pretty impressive spread for the limited resources in the middle of the desert. There was the salt and peppered strips of rabbit alongside shredded potatoes spiced with salt, pepper and a little bit of goron spice. The toast was coated in a thin layer of cinnamon, and the chunks that had been in the boiling liquor were some dried berries that Wild had rehydrated and then crushed and mixed with sugar into something resembling a warm jam to top the toast.

They finished their meal, packed up camp, and set off on their way; and if someone started a sand fight somewhere along the way it was definitely Hyrule’s fault.

It was around midday when Twilight finally noticed it. Like the steady set of the sun; so gradual you didn’t even notice it was gone until you’re plunged into darkness. Just like that Twilight realized that nothing he saw looked right. Time’s armor no longer glimmered, the blue of Wild’s tunic had been replaced by dull gray, Wind’s sparkling eyes were now the color of dead slate, Sky’s smile wasn’t bright but dull white-gray, the royal blue and fiery orange of the scarf Wild had made Warriors was silent fog, the beautiful patterns mere traces of dull silver, Four’s technicolor vest was reduced to slightly different shades of gray, the flash of pink in Legend’s hair was gray and nearly indistinguishable from the gray hair that should have been blonde, Hyrules face, just moments ago flushed with laughter and covered in sand, was drained of color, and the shining sun above them was nothing more than a white flash in a gray sky.

Twilight froze, eyes wide searching the horizon for

_anything, any flash of color_

but there was nothing. No color, no spark of life. His vision wavered; shaking and blurring like a heat mirage.

“Twilight?”

Was that Time? Maybe, but his hearing was wavering too. Every sound forcing its way through waterlogged tufts of cotton stuffed in his ears.

Then the pain came.

Slamming into his chest like a crossbow bolt; burning, the same burning from last night. He stumbled. He opens his mouth to say something, but all that comes out is a strangled whimper while his lungs struggle for breath feeling like they’ve been paralyzed.

Then his legs give out and he’s falling into the sand.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, they have hair conditioner in Hyrule Warriors now, may not make sense, but it's, in the words of Brian David Gilbert, "like everything else in this dumbass timeline".


	4. Shadows

“Twilight?” Time asks, voice laced in concern as he and the others stare worriedly at the frozen ranch hand. They were walking, and everything was fine, normal, and then he’d just stopped; his eyes looking desperately around him. For what? Only he knew.

He was shaking.

Time narrowed his eye and took a step toward his protégé, “Twilight?”

He fell. Twilight’s legs gave out and he fell face first into the sand with a strangled whine.

Time dropped to his knees beside Twilight and held up an arm to stall the others from crowding them. He grabs Twilight’s shoulder  and pushes him onto his back. His eyes are wide, frozen, and full of pain.

“What’s wrong? What’s happening to him?” several voices are asking the same questions, but Time doesn’t have an answer for any of them yet.

Time leans closer...and then jerks back as Twilight  _ screams _ .

His arms and legs thrash; his fingers clawing through the sand. Time reaches out to hold him in place, but before he can even touch his protégé Twilight is shifting.

Not shifting like normal though; a smooth transition from man to beast. No, this time Time can  _ hear _ bones shifting and cracking, joints moving and dislocating, and organs crawling from their normal locations. In two more minutes than usual, Twilight’s a wolf.

Still thrashing violently and howling in pain. His teeth flash, and he wraps his jaws around one of his forelegs and  _ pulls _ like he’s trying to rip his own skin off.

Time darts forward and wraps his hands around Twilight’s jaws and pries them away from the leg leaving toothy gouge marks and dripping blood behind. He clamps Twilight’s jaws shut with one hand and pins his forelegs with the other, carefully avoiding the gashes dripping blood into the sand.

“Pup?” Time asks through gritted teeth as he struggles to keep Twilight pinned, “Can you hear me? What’s happening?”

Twilight grew still. His eyes slid shut and his body relaxed.

For a second Time thought that was it…

Then the colors started changing.

Twilight’s glossy black fur turned dull and lost its healthy shine; brown, gray, and dark green patterns turned dark teal. Shadows encroached on Twilight’s form twisting around his legs into black and teal flaming tendrils flickering around his ankles, and arcing out from his tail in half a dozen shadowy whips.

Twilight’s eyes snapped open, solid, dead teal, and his lips curled over his fangs, a deep rumbling growl building in his throat. The growl grew louder; trembling vibrations arcing up Time’s arm. Whips like tails crashed against the ground. Then the wolf was up; passing through the strong hands holding it down like a ghost.

And with a roaring bark that shook the earth beneath them and echoed from the depths of hell the wolf launched itself at Time; maw wide and fangs waiting to rip into vulnerable blood vessels in his neck.

 


	5. Here It Goes Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I added an email address to my profile, and it is specifically meant for answering questions if you have any. I also accept question through Tumblr @naturaldisaster-goddess either through pms or asks, and I just wanted to let you all know.  
> I'm not totally happy with this chapter...maybe I'll redo it later or something.

Time barely dodges out of the way of the razor fangs. He crashes into the sand, and before he can get up himself Sky is already beside him and dragging him away.

“Again!? It’s only been three months!” Time hears Warriors crow behind them, and when he looks back he sees the others with weapons drawn, and Warriors pulling his scarf from his neck and stuffing it in his bag.

“We can’t touch him he’ll pass right through.” Time reports, the others flocking around him as the wolf reorients himself from his failed attack.

“Do you think this is another ‘stab him with the Master Sword and he’ll be fine’ situation?” Wild mumbles eyeing the wolf worriedly.

“Do we want to find out?”  Four asks as he steps carefully out of sword reach of the others, everyone else following his lead.

The wolf charges, and as he throws himself out of the way Legend calls, “Don’t think we have much choice in the matter!”

Hyrule ducks and goes to swipe at the wolf’s legs, but just like Time’s hands the blade slips through the wolf like he’s no more than fog. Hyrule scrambles away, but his footing is awkward and slow.

Before the wolf can take advantage Hyrule’s distraction Sky is there standing in front of him and slashing the glittering blade at the wolf.

The wolf ducks under the slash, and spins. His whip-like tails arc towards the two heroes and slam into them; knocking them back several feet.

“He actually dodged the Master Sword; we might be on the right track!” Wind calls.

A shining blue arrow pierces through the wolf’s paw; ice exploding out and encasing his foreleg. He’s not trapped for long, pulling his misty paw through with no problem, but it’s long enough for Sky and Hyrule to get back to the group.

It looks like a fight that’s been reduced to a game of cat and mouse; neither side being able to land a real hit. Then Sky is running forward again.

“Sky wait!” Time calls, but the other hero pays him no mind.

It looks like Sky is going to go for another head-on attack, and the wolf darts forward to meet him.

Sky stops, feet skidding in the sand Sky stops moving, reverses his grip on the Master Sword, and  _ throws  _ it. There’s a weight on his shoulders as Wild springs off him snatching the sword out of the air with a graceful flip.

The wolf is still charging Sky, and it’s far too late to stop.

His left foot digs into the sand, and Sky throws himself out of the way.

 

Too slow.

 

The wolf’s jaws wrap around his upper arm, and fangs rip into flesh and muscle.

Sky lets out a sharp cry of pain as he’s pushed back by the weight of the wolf. Wild is above him; twisting through the air the Master Sword glowing as he swings it toward the wolf.

The blade passes clean through the wolf, and Wild crashes to the ground in a small sandstorm.

The wolf lets go of his arm and Sky falls to the ground, and the wolf twists away and aims its fangs for Wild.

Tiny daggers are aimed at his throat and Wild has a second to wonder, ‘ _ Is this what it felt like for others last time? _ ’

Then a dark ball of pink lightning and black shadow slams into the wolf’s shoulder; pink lightning arcing across his body as he’s pushed away crashing into the sand with a whimper.

 


	6. The Twilight Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's a really short chapter today. This story's giving some really bad writer's block, and I'm having those couple of days where everything I create is absolute garbage, you know the ones. Hopefully I'll have the writer's block beat by tomorrow. Anyway...

Emerging from a portal behind them was a tall, blue-skinned woman. She held a tri-pointed spear in one hand and the other was still wreathed in black shadow and crackling pink lightning.

She narrows her eyes at the whimpering wolf, “So that’s why I was sensing Twili magic here. Now what the fuck is a shadow beast doing here?”

The wolf-shadow beast?-drags himself to his feet, and growls at her. She’s about to launch another shot of magic at him, but the wolf turns and bolts off.

She starts to run after him, but he’s already long gone, “Wait! No no no no! Shit!”

She kicks the sand frustratedly.

“Sky?” the quiet, raspy voice rings with worry.

She turns and sees the group of heroes crowded around their downed member. Two of them are supporting him and trying to investigate the festering black bite mark on his arm. The rest are crouched nearby; weapons in hand watching her with suspicious glares.

She stares at the half-familiar faces.

“Shit.”

 


	7. Nothing To Do But Wait

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit later than normal, cause writer's block is a bitch and then I got sick at fencing last night, but I think this chapter actually turned out pretty well. Hope you guys enjoy!

“Who the fuck are you?” she demands.

“Long story,” Warriors replies shortly, “who the fuck are you?”

She looks incredibly unimpressed with his response and scathingly replies, “Hi ‘Long Story’ the name’s Midna. Now why was there a shadow beast here, and why were  _ you _ fighting it?”

Legend looks like he’s about to say something, but Time cuts him off, “That-shadow beast you called it-happens to be a friend of ours that turned into it. We don’t know how.”

Midna frowns, “What was your friend’s name?”

They all hesitate for a second, then Hyrule replies, “Link.”

Her eyes widen, “ _ That _ was  _ Link _ ?!”

Time narrows his eyes, “You know him?”

“You could say that,” Midna replies, then she looks at Sky where he lays in the ground, “he got bit?”

Wild looks up and nods slowly.

Midna clicks her tongue, “Wait here.”

“What? Why? Where are you going?” Legend asks with a suspicious glare.

“Shadow beasts are capable of turning humans into their own kind. If left to fester that wound will turn him into a shadow beast before the end of the day.  _ I _ am going to go get him a cure; you can thank me later.”

Then a black misty portal opens up before her, and before they can protest, she’s gone, leaving the heroes with no option but to wait for her.

* * *

 

By the time she returns it’s been several hours. The other Links have wrapped a cloth tightly around Sky’s arm above the bite mark. The rest of his arm has turned black, and his fingers have turned into wicked claws.

Midna steps out of the black portal with a glowing orb clutched in her hands. She doesn’t wait for anyone to speak, and shoves the orb at Sky’s chest. The orb glows brightly and disappears into his chest; blue-white light tracing through his body like the tails of shooting stars. The light traces its way down his arm dissolving the shadows in their wake like sugar in water. The shadows vanish and Sky breaths easier, but the bite mark still mars his arm.

Midna stands, and the heroes all breathe a silent sigh of relief.

Time looks back up at her, “Now, what do we do about T-Link?”

Midna side eyes him, “ _ I _ am going to go find him, and given that you lot would get in the way of that, you are going to wait here.”

“ _ Like hell _ .” Wild hisses turning towards her, but Time’s hand resting on his arm redirects his attention.

“Wild, she’s right. We couldn’t even touch him.” Time says quietly. Wild bites his lip and looks down.

“What’s your plan after that?” Time asks.

“If what I think is happening  _ is _ happening then I’m going to need to take him to the Twilight realm, and-” she pauses and narrows her eyes at Time, “and you want to come don’t you.”

They all look at her with near identical expressions saying what Wind gives voice to, “No shit.”

Midna rolls her eyes to the sky, “ _ Fine _ .”

She points to the horizon, “North of here there’s a place called Arbiter’s Ground; you can meet me there.”

Then without another word she turns and walks off in the direction Twilight had run off in earlier that day. Leaving eight heroes with nothing to do but wait.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have no idea how much I wanted to make Time accidentally call Twilight "Twink" in that one part. You Have No Idea.


	8. Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter. The next few are gonna be pretty short ones, but it's pretty much just the bois bein sad so hopefully I won't have much trouble with writer's block.

It was dark...too dark.

His skin  _ burned _ .

Memories flashed before his eyes.

The first time he’d transformed. The pain. The confusion.

The first time the village had seen him in his wolf form.

 

The screams.

 

_ AHHHH! _

 

The words.

 

_ Beast! _

 

The fear.

 

_ Kill it! _

 

The hatred.

 

_ Monster! _

 

Friends and family raising blades against him.

 

_ Monster! _

 

They didn’t even know it was him.

 

_ Monster! _

 

Then, it happened again. An uncontrolled transformation. His friends unable to recognize him. His family raising blades against him. 

This time though...this time he was attacking them. This time he was trying to kill them.

 

_ Monster! _

 

This time he’d ripped into the flesh of another human being,  _ one of his friends _ . 

 

_ Monster! _

 

This time he’d tasted blood.

 

_ Monster! _

 


	9. Waiting

It wasn’t hard to find Arbiter’s Ground; a massive stone fortress in the middle of the desert with an imposing entrance topped with a stone monument of the Triforce. Wild immediately settled himself in the hollow space between the three triangles, and Hyrule, having somehow become the defacto doctor of the group, was tending to the bite mark on Sky’s arm while The Chosen Hero slumbered on.

‘At least it’s something.’ Hyrule thought to himself as he traced the bite in healing magic. His mind darted back and forth between the others irritably twiddling their thumbs and the direction Midna had gone in to chase after Twilight.

Hyrule wrapped a bandage around Sky’s arm and sat back on his heels gazing out into the desert. 

More than anything he wanted to be out there; helping find Twilight, helping his friend, and he knew the others felt the same.

_ Why can’t we… _

_ Why can’t  _ I _ do anything? _

 


	10. Pretending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was right about not having trouble with writer's block with these chapters.

He wasn’t good at waiting.

He never had been.

He usually hadn’t had to. After all the war had often been battle after battle with seemingly no end. He never had to wait for a battle, or look for one, they found him. He remembered wishing constantly for a break; for a chance to rest, to  _ wait _ . Now there was nothing to do  _ but _ wait.

_ Well _ , he thought scathingly,  _ you got your wish didn’t you. _

He tapped his foot incessantly on the stone ground twirling a dagger in his fingers.

 

_ Waiting… _

 

_ Waiting… _

 

_ Waiting… _

 

_ Wishing. _

 

_ Wishing to be able to help a friend. _

 

Sooner or later he couldn’t sit and wait anymore. So he reached out and poked Legend in the arm.

“You up for a spar?” he whispered.

Legend’s shoulders sagged and he nodded.

Warriors stood and walked to the side, drawing his blade, and Legend followed.

He couldn’t be out there; fighting for his friends or finding his lost family.

 

All he could do was twirl his blade in showy, glittering arcs; pretending he was doing something useful.

 


	11. Action

Legend had never felt like this before.

As long as he could remember he was always doing  _ something _ . Always going off on some adventure. Always out saving the world

( _ or destroying it _ )

and doing his best to maintain whatever peace existed.

Never had he just been doing  _ nothing _ .

Every time something bad had happened, every time something was amiss, he’d taken action.

Even if that action ended with him losing everything.

 

_ You can’t do anything. _

 

He couldn’t even wrap his head around the concept.

Which was why he’d so readily agreed to spar with Warriors; so that at least he’d be doing  _ something _ .

They couldn’t do anything to help Twilight right now; he’s smart enough to realize that.

Still his restless, adventurer’s heart thrummed in his chest beating out a steady song of

 

_ Action. Adventure. Get up. Do something. Why are you wasting your time? _

 

He knew they couldn’t do anything for Twilight.

  
But ~~_the helplessness_~~ the waiting was still driving him mad.


	12. Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to ignore this, but I'm curious.  
> Each of the stories in this series does or will have an overarching sort of theme. I wanna hear if anyone can guess what they are/where I got it.  
> "Shall we play a game?"

_ Here we go again. Here we go again. Here we go again. _

The constant, horrible mantra rang through his mind. Over and over and over and over.

_ Here we go again. Here we go again. Here we go again. _

It was just like before; watching his sister be snatched up by the Helmaroc King, watching Wild be dragged into a cold abyss in his mind by a long vanquished evil while his body rotted away before them.

The exact same fear. The exact same helplessness, but he’d been able to do something then. He’d been able to save his sister. He’d been able to help look for a cure for Wild.

He looked down at the burn scar seared across his palm; a scar that was carried by all of the other Links except for Time and Wild.

He’d been able to help save Wild.

Now though...now there was nothing. Nothing for him to do. No way for him to help.

It was just like before; only this time he was stuck in those first few seconds of watching someone he loved disappear with no way of stopping it.

_ Here we go again. _

 


	13. The Young, The Ancient, The Wise, The Fool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late again because standardized tests and trigonometry are evidently conspiring against me.

_ She’s right. _

Why did he say that?

Why did he agree to this?

_ Because she was. _

Easy to say that. The waiting was still enough to drive anyone mad.

_ How long would it take Midna to find him? Did they have a time limit? How long could he stay like that without it becoming permanent? _

 

_ How much time did they have? _

 

It seemed as though time was always against them, and the irony of that did not escape him. He knew he was right in deciding to leave it to Midna to find Twilight, but what about after that?

_ How do we help him? What can we do? _

And perhaps the most troubling of all;  _ Can _ _ we do anything? _

Or would they have to leave that to Midna too?

Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing; she seemed to know Twilight, and she’d saved Sky.

The thought of sitting back while someone else did all the work to save  _ his _ protégé,  _ his _ descendent still rubbed him the wrong way.

For a second he felt to small for his body again; a little boy masquerading as an adult trying to face something way beyond him. At the same time though, he felt ancient, like an old man in a child’s body with all the skill and knowledge of a man decades older than him, and all of that knowledge and skill not meaning a damn thing as he still yet faced something older, wiser, and much more powerful than he.

He clenched his fist.

_ Damn it. _

 


	14. Out of Reach

Something was missing. That was obvious enough, and all of the others felt it. For him though, it was a bit different. He was the only one to really interact closely with other versions of himself, and those had been literal parts of himself. The other Links weren’t quite like that, but with Twilight missing and no idea what was going to happen to him Four kept wiggling his fingers and toes and rotating his wrists and ankles constantly feeling like he had to make sure they were all still there. Constantly checking that a piece of himself hadn’t gone and disappeared when Twilight had.

It had though; he felt like there was a gaping hole in his soul. It felt like he’d been holding a long, heavy chain and one of the links had disintegrated leaving him holding two parts of a full chain that was suddenly broken, incomplete. That wasn’t a feeling that moving his limbs around would chase away. 

There was only one thing that could fix that broken chain, but  _ he wasn’t here. _ He was off somewhere far out of Four’s reach. Not out of reach like that tall shelf at Time’s ranch that Legend had teased him about not being able to get to either. Not out of reach in a way that he could fix by convincing Wild to let him climb up on his shoulders. Not even out of reach the way Wild had been; where he could still sit by his side as he faded and keep him company, make sure that even if he died he wouldn’t be alone this time, where he could scour shelves of books and miles of records on the Sheikah Slate looking for a cure.

Out of reach like another world. Out of reach like the stars in the sky. Out of reach like the bottom of the ocean. So far out of reach that he couldn’t even comprehend the distance.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is my favorite chapter so far.


	15. Questions

Wild was patient. Most of the others would disagree if you asked, but he was. Much of his journey had been spent waiting: waiting for the perfect shot at a guardian’s eye, waiting for a blood moon while standing on a pedestal in his underwear, waiting for the right moment to dodge an arrow, waiting for the perfect time to let go of his paraglider to drop underneath a guardian beam, waiting for the right time to stasis something in a shrine. He spent a lot of time waiting; he knew how to wait, how to sit patiently and completely still for hours.

That hard learned patience seemed to have abandoned him.

He was fidgeting, twisting his cloak between his fingers, tapping his foot against the side of the hollow triangle he was nestled inside, and looking off into the setting sun every few seconds. He knew how to wait, but he really didn’t want to.

He wanted to be out there; helping his friend like he’d helped him. He wasn’t though. He wasn’t helping. He was curled in a hollow triangle feeling sorry for himself for not doing anything. Midna had said they couldn’t do anything to help, and Time had agreed. Was it because they really couldn’t do anything helpful, or just that they didn’t know how yet?

Questions had always been the one single constant in the life he remembered, but there was only one other time that he’d had to ask  _ that _ question. One hundred years ago, thousands of years in the future. The Calamity had risen, and they’d failed. Zelda had awakened her power, but she couldn’t completely defeat it on her own. He was dead; he couldn’t help her. What if he hadn’t died? Could they have won? He had a lot of things now that he hadn’t had then; would that make a difference? Did they really not have everything they’d needed to win, or were they just doing it wrong?

Those questions had haunted him since he remembered his death. The others had quieted them, but now they were back. Ringing in his mind full force about a whole new situation. Could they really not help Twilight?

He rubbed his chest right above the vertical stripe of scar tissue. They had managed to help him; why not Twilight?

_ Why did he have to wait for someone else to save his best friend? _

 


	16. What Now?

He woke up slowly.

The first thing he noticed was a dull, but biting, pain in his arm. He peeled his eyes open expecting to see Zelda’s indigo loftwing poking its head through the window and pecking at his arm to wake him up. He didn’t see a blunt beak or indigo feathers. There was no bright sunlight unhindered by clouds.

Instead there was the shallow light of a dull, orange sunset, and a concerned face framed in dirty blonde hair leaning over him.

Wide jaws and black and teal shadowy fur leaping at him flashed through his mind.

Sky gasped and threw himself onto his elbows, and immediately winced and realized his mistake when the dull pain in his arm exploded into massive thorns shredding through his flesh. He only vaguely registered the face above growing more concerned as the figure gently forced him back to the ground. There was a small, warm glow and the pain in his arm dulled like pouring cold water over a burn.

His clenched muscle relaxed as the pain faded, and he opened his eyes to see Hyrule’s worried face above him.

“How long have I been out?” he croaked.

“A little over a day.” Hyrule replied handing Sky a water skin and helping to sit up against a nearby stone column.

Sky downed a gulp of the water and picked out he rest of their companions. Well...the ones that were there.

“Where’s Twilight? What happened?”

Hyrule bit his lip and unconsciously gripped one of his hands rubbing his thumb over the knuckles, “After you passed out, this girl showed up; she said her name was Midna apparently she’s a friend of Twilight’s. He ran off after she came; she’s out looking for him now.”

“The sword didn’t help.” Sky whispered cautiously.

Hyrule shook his head sadly, “She couldn’t even touch him.”

Sky looked down; Fi had been their best bet. If she hadn’t been able to help...he didn’t have the slightest idea what to do next.

“What now?”

Hyrule sighed, “Midna seems to have an idea of what’s going on, so for now, we’re waiting on her.”

That hadn’t quite been what he’d wanted to hear.

 


	17. Into the Twilight

They waited for three days.

The worry and helplessness was eating at all of them, and tensions were rising. Several of them had taken to completely ignoring the others; Time sat against a column staring into the desert, and hadn’t moved in two days, Wind had taken to sitting beside Hyrule as he tended to Sky’s arm, Four had started to sharpen his weapons, but he’d been staring vacantly at his reflection in the dagger in his hand for half an hour, Warriors sat quietly, deftly twirling a dagger between his fingers, Legend leant against a column with one knee pulled against his chest rubbing one of his magic rings between his fingertips, and Wild, much like Time, was still nestled in the hollow part of the triforce statue, from which he’d barely left since they’d arrived, staring into the horizon, not so much as twitching in the last day.

The vicious bite on Sky’s arm was now little more than a faded scar, but, relieved though he was with the progress, that also meant he was out of ways to be helpful, Hyrule reflected. He’d only just resigned himself to his encroaching uselessness when something new happened.

Wild moved.

Not the slow reluctant movements of the last few days, but rapid, almost excited. He latched onto the tip of the triforce with that uncanny grip of his and squinted into the fading sunlight. In the same moment Time had flung himself to his feet gazing into the distance with barely repressed desperation.

Wild whistled sharply, and the other Links’ eyes snapped to the direction the other two were looking. A figure, small but growing larger with every step, was approaching the fortress. Dull sunlight glinted off the familiar fiery red braid Midna had had her hair in, and sure enough the woman herself had reached the stone steps. She climbed the stairs and breezed right by them; a familiar black and teal wolf was slung over her shoulder, completely unconscious. She walked through the entrance completely ignoring the myriad of questions that followed her; not even reacting when Wild dropped to the ground from his stone perch right beside her.

They followed her through the fortress into a large antechamber with a hollow mirror frame surrounded by shattered glass fragments scattered around it. Midna held up her hand and a swirling black portal formed above the mirror. She moved forward then stopped and turned to them.

“Well,” she said, “come on if you’re coming.”

Without waiting for a response she stepped through the portal leaving the others to either follow or be left behind.

None of them even thought twice.

 

The sound hit them first.

A shattered cacophony of snapping bones splintering through their ears.

Then came the pain; bones and organs rearranging, some growing or shrinking, some disappearing all together.

The sound of bodies colliding with the ground came next. Pained grunts and groans and whines, and flashes of bright colors in the corners of their vision.

Then Legend’s voice, tired, pained, and irritated, rang out.

“Of fucking course.”

 


	18. What?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything between apostrophes 'like this' is the guys talking in...animal speech I guess...and Midna can't understand them.

His head was pounding like someone had decided to use his skull as a drum when he woke up. He peeled his eyes open, and to his relief he was in a large room colored in dull grays, teals and purples and he was lying in a massive four-poster bed that felt like he was being supported by water and clouds given solid form.

 _Wait,_ he thought, _weren’t we in the desert. I don’t remember any inns there, and there’s no way they could afford a bed like this anyway._

At any other moment he’d have been close to panicking, but the pounding in his head and the deep-seated exhaustion in his limbs only allowed a strangled, questioning whine to escape his throat.

‘Are you awake?’ Wild, that Cub’s voice.

Twilight pulled his head up struggling with the weight of a heavy metal collar chaining his throat to the headboard.

_What?_

The posts of the bed were ebony wood; the top delicately carved in arcing twists painted: midnight blue, purple, silver, and flaked with dull pink like a night sky. Wrapped around the top of the supporting posts was translucent, midnight blue satin, and dangling from the decorative arcs were dozens of tiny diamonds like twinkling stars.

And crouched atop one of the wooden beams in the top corner above Twilight’s head and sticking out like a bright full moon; was a silver clouded leopard with markings the color of blue stars.

_What?_

The pounding in his head faded into background noise as he stared at the large cat as he climbed down the wooden post of the bed.

The cat mewled softly and batted at Twilight’s nose with one paw, and again Twilight heard Wild’s voice, ‘Hey, feeling OK?’

_What?_

When he gave no response Wild batted his nose a bit more insistently; another concerned mewl leaving his throat.

Another voice spoke, ‘He’s awake?’

Legend, that was Legend, but when Twilight turned to look in the direction of the voice there was no familiar figure. Instead a golden-brown satin rabbit with ears, tail, and paws tipped in dull pink hopped onto the bed.

_What?_

‘He’s awake, but he’s not answering me.’ Wild’s voice responded as the clouded leopard turned to face the rabbit.

‘At least he’s awake right?’ Wind’s voice rang out as a seagull, with ocean blue feathers on his wings where there would normally be gray, flapped gently onto the bedspread.

‘Yes, though it would be better if we could get an actual update on how he’s doing.’ Sky’s voice came from the white whooper swan with the feathers of his tail and the bottoms of his wings colored bright crimson red as he landed beside the seagull with Wind’s voice.

‘To be fair,’ Four spoke from the body of a sparkling violetear hummingbird colored in shades of red, blue, green and purple, ‘he’s probably gonna need a minute to process the fact that all of his friends are suddenly a petting zoo.’

The bed was starting to get a bit crowded at this point, and Wild reluctantly moved away and climbed back up to his perch on the bedpost.

‘He’s up, how is he?’ Hyrule spoke as the head of a dark brown corsac fox peaked above the edge of the bed.

_What?_

The fox leapt onto the bed revealing his dark green colored underbelly as the swan turned to him and replied in Sky’s voice, ‘We haven’t managed to get a response yet.’

Before anymore words could be spoken a final pair of animals appeared; one was a very familiar golden wolf with white markings, one eye tightly shut and marred by a knife scar, and the other was a large peacock riding on the wolf’s back. The peacock’s main body was colored a tropical sea green color, his wings and the tiny feathers leading up to his plumage were colored amber and dusted with smoky black, and his massive plumage was royal blue chased with flashes of golden yellow and fiery orange.

He flew clumsily from the wolf’s back and onto the bed.

He was bright...showy...flamboyant...overstated...pretentious…

‘Hey welcome back.’ Warriors’ voice sounded from the brightly colored bird.

_Of course._

_What?_

‘Good to see you’re finally awake.’ Time’s voice resounded as the gold wolf hopped gracefully onto the bed.

_What?_

There was a click and the sound of a door thudding open, and when they turned to see who it had admitted, there she was.

_Midna?_

The girl he’d first met as an imp riding around on his back while they saved the world was standing before him in the form he’d only known for a few minutes. Tall and graceful her hair adorned with a royal silver headpiece and dressed in casual black leggings and a loose black top that draped off of one shoulder.

She looked at him and saw his wide, shocked eyes, and smirked, “Well look who’s back!”

She walked towards him and folded a leg under her as she sat on the edge of the bed. Then she pulled an onyx key from her sleeve and leant forward to pull the collar off his neck.

The sound of soft, feline growling drifted down from above them. They looked up to see Wild crouched on the bedpost; his eyes narrowed and his tail flicking between he and Midna. The motions of his tail could have been just random tail movement, but it also could have been the cat equivalent of an ‘I’m-watching-you’ gesture. Midna smirked toothily and stuck her tongue out at him.

‘What?’

‘She’s been pulling pranks on him for the last week,’ Legend replies, _did he say that out loud, wait week?_ , ‘it’s glorious.’

‘Week?!’

‘You’ve either been insane or unconscious for the last week.’ Wind explains.

Midna finally broke off her staring contest with Wild to glare at Twilight, “You got yourself turned into a shadow beast, because you’re an idiot.”

Twilight stared at her.

_Why don’t I remember that?_

The pounding in his head came back.

‘I give up,’ he whined, ‘I’m going back to bed. Wake me up when the world makes sense again.’

He lowered his head resolutely back down to his paws.

‘Hardly a mature response pup.’ Time scolded lightly.

Twilight folded his ears back and stubbornly shut his eyes.

‘ _Good night.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of doing some side stories for this one, mostly just a bunch of one shots of what mischief the guys got into in the Twilight Realm, I'll also include my explanation of their animal forms if you guys want me to.


	19. Would A Monster Do That?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's going to be wrapping up pretty soon, maybe another chapter or two, I got a suggestion to do Sky's next and apparently that's all it takes cause now I'm flooding with ideas. I am going to do the side stories for this of what happened while the boys were in the Twilight Realm, and since that one has no real plot I'm going to take suggestions and request for chapters. I'll work on that in parallel with my other works, and update sporadically. Anyway, I've rambled enough, enjoy!

It was dark.

He could barely think.

He could hear worried words passing over him.

Then, he could see.

Sky was in front of him, charging forward then skidding to a stop and throwing The Master Sword in the air even as Twilight charged him.

He tried to dodge, tried to move out of the way, but Twilight got there first. He leapt towards his friend, jaws wide, and buried his fangs in Sky’s arm.

The cry of pain that came from Sky’s mouth tore through Twilight’s heart even as Cub caught The Master Sword midair and swung it towards him passing harmlessly through his body. Wild crashed to the ground, and Twilight felt himself turn and leap at Wild’s throat.

_ NO! No no no no NO! _

He had time to see the cub- _ his _ cub’s terrified eyes before he jolted awake not knowing if his teeth had met their mark or not.

He tore his eyes open and exact same bright blue eyes were staring him in the face through the darkness. He was warm on all sides, he could feel the weight of the others curled up around him, and he could heal their steady breathing as they slept.

He looked back at Wild who was waiting patiently for him to speak.

_ His dream, nightmare, had that really happened? _

_ Did he want to know if it had? _

 

_ He had to. _

 

‘Wild,’ he started slowly, quietly, ‘before did...did I really attack you guys? Did I really bite Sky?’

Wild didn’t answer for a second, ‘Yes, but as you can see, he’s fine.’

‘Now.’

The beginning of a growl sounded in Wild’s throat.

‘I-in this dream I just had, after I bit Sky, I...did I…’ he couldn’t finish the sentence, but it seemed that Wild understood him anyway.

Wild rolled his eyes, ‘Does it look like you killed me?’

‘You can bring yourself back from the dead Wild!’ Twilight hissed severely, ‘For all I know I could have!’

‘You didn’t.’

‘But I tried.’

Wild didn’t answer.

Twilight looked down, terrified screams ringing in his ears.

_ Monster! _ they cried.

_ I guess they were right… _

‘I really am just a monster.’

He hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but he knew he had when he heard a sharp, screeching  _ yowl. _

The terrifying sound rang out, and then Wild was darting forward and viciously batting his paw over Twilight’s head over and over in a display of righteous fury.

‘Wild! What the fu-!’ Twilight cried, but was cut off as Wild lowered his paw and hissed angrily at the wolf, his eyes narrowed and burning with icy flames.

‘Six days.’ he hissed.

‘What are you-’

‘You know exactly what I’m talking about.’

He did.

Six days of running. Six days of racing against the clock as Twilight tried to get Wild to Hateno. Six days of hoping he’d find a way to save Wild’s life there. Six days he’d carried Wild on his back wishing, hoping and praying that he wouldn’t die.

‘Would a monster do that?’ Wild asked.

Then Wild’s paw was on his forcing it over his claws digging lightly into the still visible burn scar seared across the pad.

‘Would a monster do this?’

Twilight was silent. His mind racing for any fault in Wild’s words.

Nothing.

No part of him could find any way to not believe Wild, because for all the cub’s recklessness, for all the gray hairs and early heart attacks he gave Twilight,  _ Wild had never truly lied to him _ .

‘Thanks.’ he whispered.

Wild settled back looking very satisfied with himself. Then his mouth fell open in a wide yawn, and he stepped up onto Twilight’s shoulder and curled up in the soft fur with a quiet purr rumbling in his chest.

 


	20. Goodbye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Though the title may lead you to believe otherwise, this is a very fluffy chapter.

The ten of them hopped through the portal back into the World of Light. Midna held her hand aloft, something they couldn’t see clutched in her fist; there was a bright flash of light and the nine heroes were human again.

“Ugh finally,” Legend griped, “not gonna miss that.”

“You only say that cause you were the one stuck as a bunny.” Warriors snarked then coughed and doubled over as Legend’s fist met his stomach.

“So what happened?” Wind asked looking up at Midna, “Really happened, why did Twilight turn into one of those shadow beasts?”

“Because he’s an idiot.” Midna stated.

“Last time I checked idiocy does not cause someone to suddenly turn into a shadow creature.” Time deadpanned.

“This is Twilight we’re talking about.” Wild says equally tonelessly.

“Hey!” Twilight cries as the others laugh.

The laughter grows in volume and Midna’s own laugh joins the sound as Time merely nods acceptingly.

Twilight  _ definitely doesn’t pout _ as he glares at his mentor and protégé; waiting for the others to stop laughing.

The laughter eventually dies down, and Midna can give a proper explanation.

“No you really did turn into a shadow beast because you’re an idiot. You were using Twili magic to transform without anyone or anything to properly remove said magic when you turned back, and because of that the Twili magic eventually completely took over your system and corrupted the light energy in you. Which if you’ll recall is exactly how shadow beasts are created.” she said glaring at him.

“Oh,” he said, “so if I transform again we’re probably going to have a repeat of this?”

“No.” she responded.

“But you said-”

“I know what I said,” she says then she hold up her hand to reveal a thick silver ring set with a white-blue moonstone and carved with intricate Twili markings, “this ring will allow you to transform from human to wolf and back  _ properly _ and remove the excess Twili magic so it won’t corrupt your light again.”

She suddenly grabs his left hand and slips the ring over his ring finger, “Now don’t be an idiot, and don’t take this off.”

Twilight stares down at the ring, and his throat closes as it really hits him.

_ He’s going to have to say goodbye again. _

 

_ Make it a proper one this time. _

 

He throws his arms around Midna and pulls closer as best he can considering she a good half foot taller than him.

“Thanks.” he says, then pulls away.

“Oh you don’t think you’re getting away with just that do you?” Midna asks.

She slips her arms under his lifts him clear of the ground, and then she kisses him.

He’s surprised for a second then he melts into the kiss sliding his arms around her neck, and now he barely notices that his feet aren’t even touching the ground.

Someone makes an exaggerated gagging noise off to the side, it’s probably Legend, and Midna curls an arm tighter around his waist and they both use one hand flip and obscene gesture at him without even opening their eyes.

Twilight hears Legend grunt as someone stomps on his foot, and smiles gently into the kiss.

 


	21. A Disscusion of Magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter guys!

It was quiet.

The moon was glimmering brightly above him.

Twilight had practically had to fight tooth and nail for the others to let him take a watch shift, but he had eventually managed. When light footsteps approached him he already knew who it would be. Sure enough Four dropped down to sit on the tree stump beside Twilight.

The smallest of the heroes had been notably quiet all day. Of course he’d been just as happy as everyone else that Twilight was OK. However the shifter could tell that something had been bothering him, and he had a feeling he knew exactly what that was.

“So…” Four began awkwardly, “when you transform it’s actually Twili magic, dark magic.”

He was right; that  _ was _ what had been bothering Four.

No surprises.

“Technically, yes it is.” Twilight replied.

“But then how can you use it so casually?” Four’s normally calm voice growing ever more incredulous, “I mean, you don’t even like magic-”

Twilight held up a finger to stall his words, “I don’t like magic because of how people usually end up using it.”

“But that’s-”

“Not always dark magic.”

Four paused.

“Think about it,” Twilight continued, “Ganondorf supposedly gets his magical ability by possessing the Triforce of Power, and if that’s true then we’re using the exact same power he does.

Twilight held up his left hand showing the mark of the Triforce on the back of his hand, and the silver ring curled around his finger.

“ And you’ve met Midna; most people would classify her as a dark mage. She helped me save the world, and nearly died several times doing it. Magic itself is not good or evil or light or dark; that’s just people.”

“I see.” Four whispered.

The two sat in silence for several minutes; then suddenly Four buried his fist in Twilight’s arm.

“It’s my turn for watch go back to sleep.” he ordered.

Twilight chuckled quietly and moved quietly back to his bed roll the sounds of his companions’ breaths flowing through his ears.

 


End file.
